Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 C diced onion
• 3/4 C diced green pepper
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5 oz can pinto beans
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 t salt
• 2 t chili powder
• 1 bay leaf

Brown beef in large pot.  Add onion and green pepper (cook until tender).  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer for approximately 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

 

All-American Stirfry ~or~ Beef Stew

One day, Matt felt like having stir-fry and I wanted something more…American, so we decided to make stir-fry but replace each Asian ingredient with its American equivalent (noodles become potatoes, chicken becomes beef, and so forth).  When we were finished, it turned out that we had some very good beef stew.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Country Style Beef Ribs (chopped in bite-sized pieces)
• 1 Medium Onion (minced as small as possible to encourage boiling away)
• 6-8 Mushrooms (sliced)
• 4-6 Medium Potatoes (cubed)
• 1 8-ounce can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 Cup Milk
• Olive Oil
• Oregano
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika

Brown beef in olive oil and seasonings in a large stew pot.  Add onions and cook until onions are soft.  Add mushrooms and sautee until mushrooms are cooked.  Add potatoes, condensed cream of mushroom, milk, and 1/2 C water.  Cover and simmer approximately 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add additional milk or water if stew gets too dry.  Serve with rolls or buttered bread.

 

Cheddar and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 Medium Potatoes
• 1 Quart Half and Half
• 2 T Margarine
• 4 T Flour
• 2.5-3 C Grated Cheddar
• 1 T Chicken Bouillon
• Frozen Broccoli Florets
• Salt and Pepper

Dice, boil, and drain potatoes.  Make a cream sauce from half and half, margarine, and flour.  Melt cheddar in cream sauce.  Add potatoes and broccoli.  Heat slowly (should thicken slightly).  Salt and pepper to taste.  This recipe can also be done in the crockpot.  Just put all ingredients (add 1 C water) in crockpot and heat on low for >6 hours.  Serve with rolls or buttered bread.  About 6 servings

 

Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

• 3 cans minced clams
• 1/2 C Butter
• 1/3 C Flour
• 3-4 Medium Potatoes (about 4 C diced)
• 2 Pints Half & Half
• 1/2 t Onion Powder
• 1/4 C Parsley
• 1/2-1 t minced Garlic (optional)
• 1/2 t Dillweed
• 1/4 t celery salt
• Salt and Pepper

Peel and dice potatos.  Drain clams and use juice to boil potatoes (about 10 minutes or until tender).  In a sauce pan, melt butter.  Add spices to butter and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Whisk flour into butter mixture.  Combine potato mixture, butter mixture, clams, and half & half and stir over med-low heat until chowder has reached desired consistency.

Alternative directions for canning: Combine all ingredients EXCEPT butter and half & half.  Process 1 hour and 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.  Add half & half and butter when heating to serve.

 

Only the Pure in Heart Can Make a Good Soup

“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”~Ludwig van Beethoven

Well, I’m not making any claims, but…

Soup is a very broad term that means meat and/or vegetables boiled in a liquid.  The difference between soup and stew is that the resulting liquid in soup is called broth and the liquid is stew is called gravy.  Really, the main difference is semantics.  There are clear soups (think about chicken noodle soup–what most people would call broth) and thick soups.  Of thick soups there are purees (vegetable soup thickened with starch), bisques (pureed shellfish or vegetables thickened with cream), and cream soups (think cream of mushroom).  People have been eating soup for over 8000 years!  Apparently, they would have tried it earlier if only someone had invented the watertight dish.  My recipes aren’t that old, but hopefully they’ll do:

• Taco Soup
• Cheddar and Broccoli Soup
• Clam Chowder
• Beef Stew
• Chili

Check back for more soup recipes all week!